Annual Statistical Report

 

INSTRUCTIONS

 

Welcome to Annual Statistics Time! I can hear you cheering. Here is information and some suggestions that will assist you in completing your congregation’s annual PC(USA) mandated report.

 

Everything you need for completing the report is available on-line:

    • The report forms are entirely online and available to begin entry work on December 1, 2023
    • You do not have to enter all the data at one time. Hitting the ‘Accept’ button at the bottom of a page saves the data
    • You may exit and return to enter additional information at any time.
    • The deadline to submit the report is February 1
    • You are encouraged to prepare the statistical report in order to bring it to your January Session meeting for receipt by Session.

 

The link is: https://oga.pcusa.org/stats.   Do not use “www.” That won’t work. This link connec1ts you to a page titled “Statistical Reporting and Frequently Asked Questions”. Click either link (labeled “Access the year-end statistics online reporting system” or “Go to the Online Statistics Entry System”) to enter the Church Statistics System. 

 

 You will be prompted to enter your church’s PIN and password.

REMEMBER:

    • The church pin is 5 numbers. You may need to add a 0 to the beginning if your pin only has 4.
    • The password requires an exclamation point at the end:

Example: Username — 01234

Password — A1B2C3!  (The password is case-sensitive, so if the letters are in caps, use caps). Don’t forget the exclamation point!

If your attempt fails, try again. If you try three times, you’ll get a notice that you’ve been locked out. Take heart! The national office automatically unlocks blocked churches every day.

If you do not know your username or password, email me at statedclerk@pbygenval.org

 

There are three tabs (categories) of information requested:

Church: Please review and update all church information, including church website and email address.
Clerk: Please review and update clerk information, including your contact information.
Statistics Questions: more on that below

 

Regarding the Statistics Questions, here are a couple of tips:

    • The Church Statistics program includes helpful tools and definitions on each page to assist with completing the process. It is offered in multiple languages:  한국어 ,  Español , and  English . If you prefer to use a workbook, PDFs have been created related to each of the questions and
      definitions being asked.
    • Once you are in the Statistics Questions tab, the “Tasks” menu in the right-hand box lists the four different pages of statistics to be submitted: Membership Stats, Congregational Life Stats, Racial Ethnic Stats, Financial Stats. The “Instructions” tab takes you back to the Statistics page. The “Home” tab takes you back to the sign in page.
    • Each of the individual statistic pages include instructions right next to each question.
    • When you have completed data entry, please please DO NOT CLICK THE FINAL “SUBMIT” BUTTON at the end of the report. This act is not necessary as it has no real effect on your Report other than providing a notice to me that you are done. Once you click that button, you will no longer have access to the statistics. There have been many times over the years that clerks have clicked Final Submit only to discover there is a revision to be made. If you do not press that button, you will continue to have access to make changes up until the February 1 deadline date. This will save both you and me a lot of trouble!

 

SOME IMPORTANT PIECES OF ADVICE

    • The beginning Membership figure. This is your starting point. If you missed entering statistics last year or the last two years (or more), you’ll have to do two (or three) years of work at this time.
        • Prepare by listing ALL the various gains and losses over the time period since you last submitted a statistical report.
        • Enter the appropriate numbers in the appropriate boxes.
        • Your total will be the now accurate membership figure for your church. This total will be the starting number next year.
    • With regard to the Age Distribution of Members and Youth in Your Congregation: do your best guesswork. Do not fret if you are not sure if a particular person is over 70 or under. Remember that this part of the report is a snapshot.
    • With respect to the financial information: The way the reporting is set up, you should be able to find everything you need from your copy of your 2023 Church Budget.
    • Do not, do not, DO NOT wait for your Session meeting to enter your statistical information. The Session does not approve the report. It receives the report. You may begin entering information at any time, and do not to have to complete a page in one sitting. Complete your data entry before February 1. NOTE: The links are available NOW to begin this work.
    • Follow the directions for printing a copy of your report. This is very important, because you need to put a copy of the report in your session minutes from the meeting when the report is received.
    • At the session meeting following statistical report submission, present the copy of the report for session to receive. This report is received by the SESSION, not the congregation.

 

Thank you so much for your service! Reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns. I’ll be sending you reminders and updates.

 

Yours in hope, faith, joy, and much love . . . .

 

 Susan Orr

 

 

View 1/5/23 Annual Statistical Report Info Session video here.